Oil and natural gas are produced from wells having porous and permeable subterranean formations. The porosity of the formation permits the formation to store oil and gas, and the permeability of the formation permits the oil or gas fluid to move through the formation. Permeability of the formation is essential to permit oil and gas to flow to a location where it can be pumped from the well. Sometimes the oil or gas is held in a formation having insufficient permeability for economic recovery of the oil and gas. In other cases, during operation of the well, the permeability of the formation drops to the extent that further recovery becomes uneconomical. In such cases, it is necessary to fracture the formation and prop the fracture in an open condition by means of a proppant material or propping agent. Such fracturing is usually accomplished by hydraulic pressure, and the proppant material or propping agent is a particulate material, such as sand, glass beads or ceramic particles, which are carried into the fracture by means of a fluid.
Subterranean formations oftentimes contain petroleum compositions that can reduce production and consequently reduce estimated ultimate recovery (EUR) of a well. These petroleum compositions can be difficult or impossible to recover due to their relatively high densities or viscosities, which oftentimes require application of heat energy or CO2 gas pressure for their production. Also, oil and gas produced from wells can oftentimes include undesirable heteroatoms, such as sulfur or nitrogen, which are typically removed via a downstream surface facility, for example a refinery. The presence of such heteroatoms increases the cost of oil and gas produced from a well due to the necessity of further downstream refining. It would be desirable to increase the market value of hydrocarbons produced from a well and to increase the well's EUR.
Therefore, what is needed is a method to reduce the densities and viscosities of certain petroleum compositions to improve an estimated ultimate recovery of a well. Also, what is needed is a method to remove heteroatom contamination from oil and gas prior to its production at the surface.